Previewing documents on a computer system

ABSTRACT

A method, system and apparatus for previewing documents on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:—displaying a main document ( 102 ) which contains a hyperlink ( 104 ); and—in response to an indication ( 106 ) of the hyperlink being received by the computer system, displaying a preview document ( 108 ) which document being that referred to by the hyperlink whilst retaining the display of the main document, so that the document referred to by the hyperlink may be previewed.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for previewingdocuments and in particular documents hyperlinked from other documents.

With the advent of electronic document publishing, documents are able torefer to other documents by embedding a hyperlink within the document. Auser reviewing such a document using a personal computer or similar userterminal can access the referred document by selecting (‘clicking’) thehyperlink. Typical examples of such documents are Web pages,word-processed reports, spreadsheets, presentations and so on.

One disadvantage is that the hyperlink necessarily represents only arudimentary indicator of content of the document it links to. Forexample, consider a Web page generated by a search engine comprising aset of search results which are presented to the user as a documentcontaining a list of hyperlinks. The user knows the type of informationhe/she is seeking; unfortunately the description of the link, forexample a textual extract taken out of context from the linked document,or just the URL, gives little clue to the user as to whether or not thelink contains (or leads to) the desired information.

A standard method typically employed to access a document hyperlinkedwithin a present document involves the user first selecting thehyperlink, then the present document is erased and replaced by thelinked document. Where, after examination, the linked document is notwhat is required by the user, the user has then to return to theprevious document. In the case of Web browsing this can incur delay andadded cost as the prior document may have to be re-downloaded from theremote Web server. U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,142 assigned to Sun Microsystems,Inc. proposes a method whereby a user can preserve a current Webpage topersist on screen whilst also acquiring a succeeding Webpage linked fromthe current page. However, the method requires the user to manuallyinvoke and cancel the persistence feature by means of a virtual‘push-pin’.

Another problem when following links between Web pages (Web ‘surfing’)is for the user to remain focused on his/her original objective. As theuser accesses each new Web page he/she is forced to (a) leave thecontext of a preceding page and (b) make the next decision of which linkto follow from within the choices (links) presented by the new page. Itis easy to get distracted by having to consider various unexpectedoptions at each new page; this problem is especially acute when aWebsite contains a link to a different Website thus forcing the user toleave the context of a Website completely. As the user links from onepage to another a history file may be assembled comprising very limitedtextual information related to the hyperlink text or URLs. It is noteasy for a user to backtrack along such a list of past links to identifythe page from where he/she started or where he/she recalls seeing a linkthat he/she would now like to follow.

A further general problem is that present methods require the user tochoose which links to follow in order to get the information necessaryto decide which are the correct links to follow. Such contradictorymethodology mandates provision of a means to allow a user to changehis/her mind; present applications, be they Web browsers or wordprocessors or the like, provide inadequate and non user friendly meansto do this resulting in user inconvenience and confusion.

It is an object of the present invention to solve these and otherproblems by means of an improved method, system and apparatus to previewdocuments.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method forpreviewing documents on a computer system comprising the steps of:

-   -   displaying a main document which contains a first hyperlink; and    -   in response to an indication of the first hyperlink being        received by the computer system, displaying a first preview        document which document being that referred to by the first        hyperlink whilst retaining the display of the main document,        so that the document referred to by the first hyperlink may be        previewed.

In a typical computer system a document is presented to a user of thesystem by means of a screen display. If a document contains hyperlinksthe user is able to identify and/or indicate a hyperlink to the computersystem by means of any suitable input device, including, but not limitedto, keyboard, mouse or touchscreen. Preferably, the input device is ascreen pointer for example, manipulated by means of a mouse. In oneembodiment of the present invention the user indicates a hyperlink tothe computer system by positioning the pointer over the hyperlink.However, the user does not select the link (for example by ‘leftclicking’ the mouse); instead the computer system automatically acquiresthe linked document and displays it on the screen in addition to theoriginal document. In this way the user can preview the content of thelink without actually selecting the linked document. This aspect isparticularly valuable for Web browsers in that page specific controls(e.g. the toolbar buttons) still relate to the original document ratherthan the preview document. To cancel the display of the preview documentthe user may either stop indicating the hyperlink to the computer systemor otherwise de-select the preview document. It should be noted that themethod of the present invention is compatible with contemporaryoperating systems such as Microsoft® Windows®. In particular, thedisplay of the preview document may be rendered by means of such a‘window’; in this case, standard Windows® positioning, sizing anddocument navigation features (i.e. scroll bars) can be provided toenable the user to manipulate the preview document.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention where afirst preview document contains a hyperlink, the method furthercomprising the step of:

-   -   in response to an indication of the hyperlink being received by        the computer system, displaying a second preview document which        document being that referred to by the hyperlink whilst        retaining the display of the first preview document,        so that the document referred to by the hyperlink may be        previewed.

The user may indicate to the computer system a hyperlink containedwithin a displayed preview document thereby requesting the display of afurther preview document. In this way a sequence of preview documentsmay be displayed to the user, all stemming from a common main document.Preferably, each displayed document occupies a part of the display suchthat the user has an overview of at least a portion of each previewdocument and also the main document. In this way the user can easilyvisualise the path (document history) from the main document to the mostrecent preview document comprising all preview documents in between.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention where atleast one preview document is displayed, the method of the inventionfurther comprising the step of:

-   -   in response to an indication of a displayed document being        received by the computer system, removing from display any and        all preview documents deriving from the indicated document.

The user is able to indicate to the computer system a document fromthose currently displayed on the screen. The user may indicate thedocument using any suitable method, for example by positioning a pointerat a location in the displayed document where there is not a hyperlink.Preferably, the user positions a mouse pointer over such an area of thedocument to indicate it to the computer system. Once the document hasbeen indicated, the document display automatically updates by removingall preview documents deriving from the indicated document. Preferably,the system arranges to cache such removed preview documents in case theuser decides to preview them again; for example caching the last 6 or sodocuments.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention where apreview document is displayed, the method of the invention furthercomprising the steps of:

-   -   in response to a selection of a displayed preview document being        received by the computer system, substituting the selected        preview document for the main document; and    -   removing from display all preview documents.

The user may select a preview document to be the main document.Selection may be by any suitable method, for example a user clicking apointer at a location in the displayed preview document where there isnot a hyperlink. Preferably, the user positions a mouse pointer over thepreview document at such a location and ‘left-clicks’ thereby selectingthe document. The selected document becomes the main document and allother documents are removed from the display. Similarly, should a userselect a hyperlink within a displayed preview document then the documentreferred to by the hyperlink becomes the main document and all otherdocuments are removed from the display. Preferably, where a mouseoperated pointer is used, in order to reserve the familiar ‘left-click’function for hyperlink or document selection, alternative means forresizing and/or repositioning the display of a preview document could bedefined including, but not limited to, the use of short-cut keystrokes,function keys or the selection of specific symbols associated with thedisplay of the preview document.

Clearly, the above method and features can be implemented by anycomputer system capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality ofdocuments, for example where the documents are displayed in windowsaccording to Microsoft® Windows® format.

Also in accordance with the present invention there is provided a systemfor displaying a preview document referred to by a hyperlink in a maindocument, the system comprising a workstation, a first document storecontaining a first preview document and an interconnection means; theworkstation being operable to co-operate with the first document storeusing the interconnection means to access the first preview documentand, in response to an indication of the hyperlink being received by theworkstation, to display the first preview document in addition todisplaying the main document.

Typical computer systems comprise workstations, storage means, serversand the like all interconnected using a variety of methods comprisingany suitable bus or networking means (wired or wireless) or anycombination thereof. Wired schemes include, but are not limited to,RS232, USB, Ethernet, IEEE1394/HAVi. Wireless schemes include, but notlimited to, Bluetooth, IEEE802.11, ZigBee, HomeRF, other low power radio(e.g. 868 MHz, 915 MHz), IrDA. Documents to be previewed can reside inany storage means including, but not limited to, solid state memory,FDD, HDD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, server. Such storage may be termed a documentstore in the present invention; a document store can be located at anylocation accessible to a workstation of the system. Suitable locationsare those local to the workstation (for example, a built-in HDD), thoseconnected to a LAN (for example, a network drive) or those connected toa WAN (for example, an internet server). In another embodiment, thesystem may further comprise a server coupled to a second document storecontaining a second preview document, the server operable to co-operatewith the workstation using the interconnection means, to access thesecond preview document in the second document store and to download thesecond preview document to the workstation. In general, the system willenable a workstation to be operable to access a plurality of previewdocuments contained in one or more document stores and to display atleast one of said plurality of preview documents in addition todisplaying the main document.

Also in accordance with the present invention there is provided aworkstation comprising a display, data processing unit and userinterface, operable according to the method of the invention to displaypreview documents. The workstation may also comprise a local documentstore, for example a FDD, HDD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM from which to access apreview document. The workstation may alternatively, or in addition,interconnect with a remote document store and operable to access apreview document from said document store. Furthermore, the workstationmay alternatively, or in addition, interconnect with a remote documentserver and operable to download a preview document from said documentserver. Means for interconnection to document stores and servers mayutilise methods as discussed earlier and which are known to thoseskilled in the art. A workstation may further comprise a data storeoperable to cache the content and data associated with a previewdocument which has been removed from display, thereby allowing a user toquickly reinstate the display of the preview document. Preferably, thedata store is operable to cache the content and data associated with upto 6 removed preview documents.

The invention is suitable to be applied to a range of commonapplications including, but not limited to, wordprocessors,spreadsheets, presentation tools (for example, Microsoft® PowerPoint)and Web browsers. An example embodiment is a Web browser applicationrunning on a computer system and displaying a main document, theapplication configured to be operable according to the method of theinvention to display preview documents whilst also displaying the maindocument. An important advantage of the invention is that for the Webbrowser and other applications the main document remains controllableusing the standard tools provided by the application.

Further features and advantages will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method ofthe present invention describing the previewing of a single document;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method ofthe present invention describing the previewing of multiple documents;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method ofthe present invention describing the cancellation of a preview document;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the method ofthe present invention describing the replacement of a main document by apreview document;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the system ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the workstationof the present invention.

In the present description the term ‘hyperlink’ (or ‘link’) denotes anactive region embedded within an electronic document, for example ahypertext link. In the context of the present invention, the term shouldbe construed to mean any displayable region of a document which whenindicated or selected results in the information or document associatedwith that region being accessed. Where a region is a hyperlink, itreferences a document obtainable at the file location or URL describedin the link. The term ‘main document’ denotes a document which is loadedin normal fashion within a host application (such as a word processor orWeb browser). In the context of the present invention a main documentcontains at least one hyperlink referring to a document for which apreview display may be generated. The term ‘FDD’ means Floppy DiskDrive; the term ‘HDD’ means Hard Disk Drive; the terms ‘CD-ROM’ and‘DVD-ROM’ should be construed as exemplary forms of disc based ROM (ReadOnly Memory) storage. The term ‘document location’ refers to anylocation at which a document resides, including, but not limited to,storage local to the users workstation (for example indicated by a localFDD, HDD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM), a network pathname, or a file remote fromthe users workstation, for example a URL referencing a document residingon a remote Web server. The term ‘preview document’ denotes a documentwhich is rendered in a preview display, which display is temporary inthat the document is not loaded (for example, to be editable) as aninstance within the host application. The term ‘display’ in relation toa document should be construed to mean the display of all, or a portion,of the content of said document.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a method of embodying thepresent invention describing the previewing of a single document. Thedisplay screen 100 of a computer terminal depicts a main document 102containing a hyperlink 104. The user positions a pointer 106 to be overthe hyperlink. This action indicates to the underlying computer systemthat a preview of the document referred to by the hyperlink is required.The computer system then arranges for the document referred to by thehyperlink to be displayed as a preview document 108. It is to be notedthat the hyperlink was not selected by the user, but instead justindicated to the computer system (in this case by positioning a pointerover the hyperlink, although any other method of indicating thehyperlink including, but not limited to, highlighting, code entry viakeyboard, right-hand mouse click, is also suitable). Preferably, therewould be a short delay between indicating the hyperlink and invoking thedisplay of the preview document for example by dwelling the pointer overthe hyperlink for a short period—this procedure could then act as aconfirmation that the preview was required.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a further method of embodyingthe present invention describing the previewing of multiple documents.The scenario depicted follows on from that described in FIG. 1 in that afirst preview document 206 is displayed on screen 200 of a computerterminal being the document referred by hyperlink 204 in the maindocument 202. The first preview document also contains a hyperlink 208and the user positions a pointer 210 over this hyperlink. As discussedearlier, this action indicates to the underlying computer system that apreview of the document referred to by the hyperlink 208 is required.The computer system arranges for the display of a second previewdocument 212 being the document referred to by hyperlink 208. In thisway a series of preview documents may be displayed each spawned from aprior document containing a hyperlink. Preferably, if utilising apointer, whenever a preview document is first displayed the pointer isthen repositioned within the display region of the preview document andat a position where there is not a hyperlink. For example, in aMicrosoft® Windows® format application, suitable locations to positionthe pointer include, but are not limited to, the title bar or whitespacein the document display area.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a further method of embodyingthe present invention describing the cancellation of a preview document.The display screen 300 of a computer terminal depicts a main document302 from which has been derived a first preview document 304 and fromwhich, in turn, has been derived a second preview document 306 usinghyperlinks (however, for clarity, the hyperlinks are not shown in FIG.3), as described earlier. The present position of the pointer is at 308such that it is lying within the display region of the second previewdocument 306. The user elects to reposition the pointer to position 310,which position is (a) outside the display region of second previewdocument 306 and (b) within the display region of first preview document304. This repositioning of the pointer acts as an indicator to theunderlying computer system that the user requires removal from thedisplay of the second preview document 306 (as denoted by the dashedoutline) and the retention of the display of the first preview document304. Clearly the pointer can be positioned in a range of locationswithin the display area of the display screen, as determined by the hostapplication; which (if any) preview document is removed from the screenis dependent on the actual positioning of the pointer, or other methodof indication, as discussed above. Placing the pointer outside thedisplay region of any preview document on the screen will have theeffect of removing all preview documents from the screen leaving justthe main document displayed. Preferably, a short delay is desirablebefore removing a preview document display; alternatively, or inaddition, caching the content of a preview document would allow rapidre-display of a preview document for a user who changes his/her mindafter having removed the preview document from the display.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a further method of embodyingthe present invention describing the replacement of a main document by apreview document. The display screen 400 of a computer terminal depictsa main document 402 from which has been derived a preview document 404(for clarity, the hyperlink in the main document is not shown). Pointer406 is lying within the display region of the preview document 404.Selecting the preview document (for example by clicking the pointer atthe current position, at which position there is not a hyperlink) willmake the preview document now become the main document (and optionallyre-rendered on the display, for example to become a larger displayregion); all other documents will be removed (in this present examplejust the main document), as is denoted by dashed outline of the maindocument 402.

The method of the invention may be implemented for specific applications(for example word processors, spreadsheets, Web browsers and the like)in accordance with standard facilities commonly available for adaptingsuch applications. The following describes an example of animplementation of the method for a Windows®-based Web browserapplication. Such an application may have an Application ProgrammingInterface (API) implemented either using a Plug-in program module or anActive-X object; the internal operations performing the method of theinvention will be consistent in either case. This example uses a pointercontrolled by a mouse. Pointer activity is managed using an event (oreven signal) handler program; either mechanism may be used to manageactivities that are triggered by some external stimulus (be it a pointerentering, selecting or exiting a context sensitive object, or some otheruser input). The operating system may provide the handler mechanism anda variety of standard input stimuli that can be assigned to a handler.It may also be possible for the designer to create and assign additionalinput stimuli for the handlers, including, but not limited to, keyboard,touchscreen or touchpad. The operating system passes control to anassigned handler when it detects an associated input stimulus. It is upto the handler as to how it processes and responds to the input.

The method of the invention may be implemented using one or more suchhandlers. These handlers might manage the acquisition, display renderingand removal of preview documents by calling standard utility programmodules. If required, the handlers might also include timers to managethe response of the system to various events, for example to delayrendering the display of a preview document depending on the userdwelling the mouse pointer over a hyperlink for a minimum period oftime.

The implementation also monitors which preview documents are displayedby using a data structure to record the detail of each preview documentdisplay (e.g. window ID, size, screen location, document file location(path, URL), etc.). All current data structures (for example thoserelating to preview documents presently displayed) are linked togetherinto a list, with the first preview document display at the head of thelist and the last (most recent) preview document display at the tail ofthe list. As the pointer moves out of the display region of a previewdocument display and into the display region of a preceding previewdocument display, all subsequent (derived) preview document displays inthe list are removed (i.e. they are not displayed and the link list ismodified accordingly). It should be noted that the data corresponding toa removed preview document display (that is the data structure and alsothe content of the document) may be retained to allow rapid re-renderingof the preview document display should the user subsequently wish topreview the document once again. Where the pointer is moved out of thedisplay region of any preview document display then all preview documentdisplays are removed (but again any of the preview documents content,data structures or the link-list may be retained for subsequent re-usewhere the user desires to preview the documents again).

Furthermore, it should be apparent to the skilled reader that theforegoing method does not impact the normal operation of the applicationin respect of the main document, since the preview documents arerendered without altering the status of the main document as viewed bythe application in which it is loaded. Taking as an example a Webbrowser, the toolbar(s) of the browser window relate exclusively to themain document, and not to any preview document displayed, such that anyinvocation thereof will solely affect the main document; for instance,pressing the ‘Back’ button will replace the present main document withthe immediately preceding main document.

In the case of the present example which utilises a mouse controlledpointer as the input device, a number of handlers could be defined torespond to the input events associated with the method of the inventionas described in the following.

In the event that the pointer enters the region of a hyperlink in adisplayed document, a handler could be activated which would requestacquisition of the document referred to by the hyperlink and organisethe preview display of the document, optionally after a short delay(pointer dwell) period acting as a confirmation by the user that thepreview is required; should the pointer exit the region of the hyperlinkbefore the delay period expires then the handler aborts and the previewdocument is not displayed. Where the preview document is displayed thehandler will arrange for the updating of the data structure andlink-list entry associated with the preview document and also,optionally, reposition the pointer to reside within the preview documentdisplay region (suitably at a position where there is not a hyperlink).

In the event that the pointer exits the displayed region of a previeweddocument, a handler would be activated which would arrange for theremoval from the display of the preview document (plus the removal ofany other preview documents in dependence on the position of thepointer). The handler would preferably arrange to retain the content anddata associated with the removed document(s) for possible subsequentre-use.

Finally, in the event that the user selects (e.g. by left clicking themouse) a document referred to by a hyperlink or a preview document, ahandler would be activated which would arrange to make the selecteddocument the main document and remove all other documents associatedwith the original main document from the display.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of an embodiment of the system of the presentinvention. The system, shown generally at 500, comprises a workstation502, a first document store 504, a second document store 506 and an nthdocument store 508 all interconnected by means 510. The system maycomprise any number of document stores, implemented using solid statememory, FDD, HDD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, as discussed earlier and use one ormore means of interconnection also as discussed earlier. The system canbe viewed logically in that a main document (containing a firsthyperlink) is loaded into an application (configured according to theinvention) running on the workstation and displayed on the VDU (notshown in FIG. 5) of the workstation. Indication of the first hyperlinkcauses the application to instruct the workstation to access a firstpreview document from the first document store 504 via interconnectionmeans 510. The first preview document is displayed on the VDU; the firstpreview document contains a second hyperlink, the indication of which inturn causes the application to instruct the workstation to access asecond preview document from the second document store 506 viainterconnection means 510. So the process continues until the nthhyperlink, the indication of which in turn causes the application toinstruct the workstation to access a nth preview document from the nthdocument store 508 via interconnection means 510. Clearly, the variousdocument stores described may be physically separate stores or some maybe combined thereby sharing the same physical store. A document storemay reside locally with respect to the workstation or remotely within anetwork server or internet server or be accessible by the workstationvia one or more such servers.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic of an embodiment of the workstation of thepresent invention. The workstation, shown generally at 600, comprises adisplay 602, CPU 604, user interface 606, program store 608, RAM 610,internet data port 612, LAN data port 614 and local document store 616all interconnected via bus 618. An application (e.g. a Web browser)suitably configured to be operable according to the method of theinvention is stored in program store 608. In operation, the applicationis run by the CPU 604 using convention means as is known in the art. Amain document may be obtained from the local store 616 or downloaded viathe LAN port 614 or internet port 612. The main document is displayed onthe display 602 under control of the application. When a user wishes topreview a document (indicating by means of user interface 606 ahyperlink within the main document), the application will decode thelocation and document identity given by data associated with thehyperlink and endeavour to access the document at the given location viathe local store 616, the LAN port 614 or internet port 612, asappropriate. Once acquired, the preview document is then rendered on thedisplay 602 as discussed earlier and temporarily stored in RAM 610. Theuser may preview another document by either cancelling (removing fromthe display) the present preview document and then indicating analternative hyperlink within the main document, or by indicating ahyperlink within a presently displayed preview document. By indicatinglinks in successive preview documents a series of such documents can bedisplayed in addition to the main document; a user may also backtrackthrough such a series to an earlier preview document and indicate adifferent hyperlink within that preview document thereby establishing analternative path (series) of preview documents stemming from thatpreview document.

The foregoing implementation is presented by way of example only andrepresents one of a range of implementations that can readily beidentified by a person skilled in the art to exploit the advantages ofthe method as disclosed in the present invention.

In the description above and with reference to FIG. 1, a method, systemand apparatus for previewing documents on a computer system isdescribed, the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   displaying a main document 102 which contains a hyperlink 104;        and    -   in response to an indication 106 of the hyperlink being received        by the computer system, displaying a preview document 108 which        document being that referred to by the hyperlink whilst        retaining the display of the main document,        so that the document referred to by the hyperlink may be        previewed.

1. A method for previewing documents on a computer system comprising thesteps of: displaying a main document which contains a first hyperlink;displaying a first preview document, which is referred to by said firsthyperlink, in response to an indication of said first hyperlink, whilstretaining said display of the main document, wherein said first previewdocument contains a second hyperlink; displaying a second previewdocument, which is referred to by said second hyperlink, in response toan indication of said second hyperlink whilst retaining said display ofsaid first preview document and said display of said main document,wherein indicating each hyperlink to the computer system by positioninga pointer over the hyperlink; wherein each preview document is opened ina corresponding preview window, wherein when each preview document isopened, the pointer automatically moves to within the newly openedpreview window, wherein said first preview document window remains openas long as the pointer remains in said second preview document window ora window corresponding to a subsequent preview document derived via asubsequent hyperlink in said second preview document, wherein when thepointer is moved from the second preview document window to the firstpreview document window, the second preview document window closes,wherein when the pointer is moved to a region not in said first previewdocument window or said second preview document window, or a windowcorresponding to a subsequent preview document derived via a subsequenthyperlink in said second preview document, both the first and secondpreview document windows close.
 2. A method according to claim 1 furthercomprising the step of: in response to an indication of a displayeddocument being received by the computer system, removing from displayany and all preview documents deriving from the indicated document.
 3. Amethod according to claim 2 further comprising the step of: caching apreview document which has been removed from display.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 2 wherein the document is indicated by positioningthe pointer at a location in the displayed document where there is not ahyperlink.
 5. A method according to claim 1 further comprising the stepsof: in response to a selection of a displayed preview document beingreceived by the computer system, substituting the selected previewdocument for the main document; and removing from display all previewdocuments.
 6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the preview documentis selected by clicking a pointer at a location in the displayed previewdocument where there is not a hyperlink.
 7. A method according to anypreceding claim wherein documents are displayed in windows according toMicrosoft.RTM Windows.RTM. format.
 8. A method according to claim 5further comprising the step of: caching a preview document which hasbeen removed from display.
 9. A method according to claim 1 wherein thesecond hyperlink is indicated to the computer system by positioning thepointer over the second hyperlink.
 10. A workstation comprising adisplay, data processing unit and user interface, operable according tothe method of claim 1 to display preview documents.
 11. A workstation asclaimed in claim 10, further comprising a local document store, theworkstation being operable to access a preview document from saiddocument store.
 12. A workstation as claimed in claim 10, furthercomprising a data store operable to cache the content and dataassociated with a preview document which has been removed from display.13. A Web browser application running on a computer system anddisplaying a main document, the application configured to be operableaccording to the method of claim 1 to display preview documents whilstalso displaying the main document.
 14. A Web browser application asclaimed in claim 13 wherein the main document is controllable using atleast one tool provided by the application.
 15. A system for displayingpreview text and spreadsheet documents referred to by a link in a maindocument, the system comprising: a local network containing one or moredocument stores; wherein said one or more document stores contains saidpreview text and said spreadsheet documents; a plurality of workstationsconnected to the local network, wherein each workstation being operableto store the preview text and the spreadsheet documents in said one ormore document stores; wherein each workstation being operable to accessthe preview text and the spreadsheet documents that are stored withinsaid one or more document stores, in response to the link referred tosaid preview text or said spreadsheet document being indicated in themain text or the spreadsheet document currently displayed on theworkstation; wherein each workstation being operable to display apreview of said text or said spreadsheet document referred to by thelink indicated in the main text or the spreadsheet document in whilstdisplaying the main text or the spreadsheet document; wherein the linkreferring to said text or said spreadsheet document is indicated to theworkstation by positioning a pointer over the link; wherein when eachpreview document is opened, the pointer automatically moves to withinthe newly opened preview window.
 16. A system as claimed in claim 15,further comprising a local server coupled to the one or more documentstores.
 17. A method of browsing internet websites comprising: (a) inresponse to placing a pointer over a URL reference or symbol of acurrent web page, displaying a pop-up preview-window also having a URLreference or symbol; (b) in response to placing the pointer over the URLreference or symbol of said pop-up preview-window, displaying a childpop-up preview-window, whilst retaining display of said current webpage; (c) repeating step (b) to generate a plurality of child previewwindows; and wherein when a new preview window is displayed, the pointeris automatically repositioned within the new preview window.
 18. Themethod according to claim 17, further including in response to movingthe pointer out of the new preview window back to a previous previewwindow, removing the new preview window.
 19. The method according toclaim 17, further including in response to moving the pointer out of thenew preview window to a previous preview window, removing all previewwindows that are subsequent to the previous preview window.
 20. Themethod according to claim 17 wherein step (c) further includes: afterdisplaying the child pop-up preview window, placing the pointer over aURL reference or symbol in the child preview window to generate a secondgeneration child preview window, the pointer being automaticallyrepositioned within the second generation preview window; placing thepointer over a URL reference or symbol in the second generation childpreview window to generate a third generation child preview window,wherein the pointer being automatically repositioned within the thirdgeneration preview window, whilst the first preview window, the childpreview window, the second generation child preview window and the thirdgeneration child preview window all continuing to be at least partiallydisplayed.
 21. The method according to claim 20 further including: a) inresponse to moving the pointer from within the third generation childpreview window to the second generation child preview window, closingthe third generation child preview window; b) in response to moving thepointer to within the child preview window, closing the second and thirdgeneration preview windows; c) in response to moving the pointer towithin the first preview window, closing the child, second generationchild, and third generation child preview windows; d) in response tomoving the pointer to a location in none of the preview windows, closingall of the preview windows.
 22. The method according to claim 17,further including displaying one of the preview windows as a currentpage in response to clicking on the specific preview window and removingall other preview windows from the display.